NEW ORLEANS – The Sun Belt Conference announced its 2020-21 men’s tennis postseason honors Wednesday.
As voted on by league coaches, six players were named to the league’s all-conference first team, while another six earned second team honors for singles. In doubles, three doubles pairs were named to both the first and second teams. South Alabama collected the most all-conference selections and individual awards with seven, while Georgia State followed with five.
Panthers' Vazha Shubladze earned Player of the Year recognition after finishing the season 13-7 overall in singles and 4-0 in conference play. The junior defeated four ranked opponents this season and collected two of the seven Sun Belt Player of the Week awards.
Julien Evrard of South Alabama collected Newcomer of the Year recognition after earning 10 wins in No. 1 singles. The No. 89-ranked grad student finished the year 19-7 in singles play as he downed two top-100 ranked opponents.
Alan Sau Franco was voted the conference’s Player to Watch for his breakout season at UTA. The Leon, Mexico, native posted a team-best 12 singles wins and earned an 8-5 record in doubles action.
Troy’s Carles Anton earned Freshman of the Year after posting a 15-3 overall singles record to go along with a .833 winning percentage. The Valencia, Spain, native earned Player of the Week accolades on March 14 after he helped lead the Trojans to a 4-1 win over Coastal Carolina.
Jaguars head coach Nick Brochu was named the Coach of the Year after he led South Alabama to its third consecutive conference tournament title. USA finished the season 12 -7 overall and 3-1 in league play and will receive an automatic bid to the NCAA tournament.
Player of the Year
Vazha Shubladze, Tbilsi, Georgia., Georgia State
Newcomer of the Year
Julien Evrard, Lille, France., South Alabama
Player to Watch
Alan Sau Franco, Leon, Mexico., UTA
Freshman of the Year
Carles Anton, Valencia, Spain., Troy
Coach of the Year
Nick Brochu, South Alabama
First Team All-Conference Singles
Vazha Shubladze, Tbilsi, Georgia., Georgia State
Julien Evrard, Lille, France., South Alabama
Clement Marzol, Toulouse, France., South Alabama
Pelayo Antuna, Gijón, Spain., Troy
Bastien Huon, Redene, France., Coastal Carolina
Angel Diaz, Manuabi, Equador., UTA
First Team All-Conference Doubles
Clement Marzol, Toulouse, France., and Loic Cloes, Oreye, Belgium., South Alabama
Andrei Duarte, Atlanta, Ga., and Roberts Grinvalds, Bigaunciems, Latvia., Georgia State
Kevin Huynh, Alpharetta, Ga., and Harvey Maughan, Hartlepool, England., Georgia State
Second Team All-Conference Singles
Carles Anton, Valencia, Spain., Troy
Ivailo Keremedchiev, Sofia, Bulgaria., Louisiana
Loic Cloes, Oreye, Belgium., South Alabama
Amer Bedwan, Montgomery, Ala., Troy
Sebastien Collard, Gatineau, Quebec, Canada., South Alabama
Harvey Maughan, Hartlepool, England., Georgia State
Second Team All-Conference Doubles
Nico Simkin, Salta, Argentina., and Christopher Tasker, Weston, Fla., Troy
Ivailo Keremedchiev, Sofia, Bulgaria., and Kacper Dworak, Lodz, Poland., Louisiana
Diego Giraldo, Medellin, Colombia., and Pyry Hyrkkonen, Pirkkala, Finland., Coastal Carolina